


Live And Learn

by lil_1337



Category: Donald Strachey - Richard Stevenson
Genre: M/M, Past Het Relationship, subtle homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 04:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5360507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for smallfandom fest 18<br/>Prompt: Donald Strachey Mysteries (Richard Stevenson) - Don/Timmy - Blast from the past</p>
            </blockquote>





	Live And Learn

The air in the office was heavy and still despite the noise the A/C unit was making.  I was seriously considering hanging the ‘out of the office’ sign, locking the door and taking a nap for the rest of the afternoon when the phone rang.  I glared at it for interrupting my perfectly good plans then picked it up because the work of  a detective is never done.  Also, the mortgage on the house on Crow Street was due soon and Timmy always appreciated it when I could toss a few dollars his way to help out.

“Strachey Investigations.”  I said using my professional voice to keep from sounding as drowsy as I was. 

“Don?” 

I paused, blinking, because for a minute I would have sworn I had fallen asleep and woken up in the 70s.  

“Don.” 

That tone pulled me back from the brink of wherever I had drifted.  The strong underlying tone of recrimination was one that I knew all too well even if I hadn’t heard it in close to a decade.  “Brigit,”  was all I could say.

There was a huff of annoyance, also a sound a knew well, before she spoke.  “So it is you then.  I would have thought you’d have a secretary by now.” 

“No, it’s still just me.” 

She sighed, drawing it out to fill the awkward silence that was settling between us.  “I need to see you.  When would it be a good time to stop by?” 

“Here or at home?” 

I could hear her tense even though she her voice was calm.  “There.  It will make things easier I think.” 

She had a point there.  If she came to the house Timmy would want to be there to play the gracious host and keep on an eye on me.  Having Brigit and Timmy in the same room was like sharing space with both my past and my present and feeling like I was being judged by both.  That was something I was in no rush to experience again.

“When would be a good time?”  

I looked at my calendar which was as pristine as an arctic snowfall and shrugged.  There was no point in putting off whatever it was.  “How soon can you get here?” 

She paused and I could almost hear the wheels turning.  “I’m at my mom’s so if the traffic is good an hour.  If it isn’t sometime this fall.”  

“See you then.”  I hung up then looked around the office.  It could use a good dusting and no doubt an hour’s worth of work would make it look as if I had really gotten myself together in the years since the divorce.  I decided on the nap.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“My mom passed in March and I’ve been using this summer to sort through her things and get the house ready to sell.”  Brigit shifted in her chair, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.  

“I’m sorry to hear that.”  We’d gotten along for the most part and until I had betrayed Brigit by deciding to be gay.  I couldn’t blame either one of them for being angry, I wasn’t too thrilled with myself at that point either.  But, time moves on and for the most part I was okay with being in my skin these days. 

“Thank you.”  A small polite smile flashed across her face and was gone.  “When I was going through her things I found this.”  Brigit pulled a thin business sized envelope out of her purse.  She held it for a moment as if weighing her decision then set it on the end of the desk.  With a single index finger she pushed it forward until it lay in the middle of my blotter, a solitary white rectangle on a field of accountant green.

My name was written on the front in a hand I knew well even if the letters were shaker than the last time I’d seen them.  I stared at it, but made no move to pick it up. 

“I didn’t open it.”  Brigit scooted forward on her chair in anticipation of standing.  “I was tempted, but I knew you’d know if I did.”  I would have, but I wouldn’t have cared.

“Do you want to read it?” I nodded towards the letter, still treating it as if it was an unexploded bomb.

“No.”  Brigit stood, her fingers turning white on the strap of her purse.  “I’ve made my peace with the past.  Whatever is in there is between you and her.”  She moved towards the door then turned back.  “Take care of yourself, Don.”  

Before I had a chance to reply she was gone, closing the door softly behind her.  That was the Brigit I knew, always had to get the last word in. 

I considered sweeping the damn thing off my desk and into the trash can, but I knew that wouldn’t work.  Sooner or later my curiosity would get the best of me and I would just end up digging it out.  Timmy would have read it for me if I asked, but if it was a final condemnation I didn’t want to subject him to that.  With a sigh of resignation I picked it up, tore open the envelope and shook a single piece of writing paper out onto the blotter.  Setting the now empty envelope aside I unfolded the paper and began to read.  

 _Dear Donald_

I stopped, surprised, and checked the date in the upper left hand corner.  The warmth of the greeting enough to convince me that the letter had been written while I was still in her good graces.  It read March 4th of the current year so I went back to reading.

 _I have cancer.  I tell you this not because I want your sympathy or pity, but so that you will know that I am speaking with the truth of a woman who is aware of her mortality and wants to make amends before she goes._

When I had known her, Brigit’s mom had never been a big fan of making apologies though she did expect to receive them often and with great sincerity.  It was already clear that whatever had happened to her in the years since I had seen her had changed her in significant ways. 

_I was very angry the last time I saw you and I said some things that I now regret.  Time and distance have allowed me to see things differently.  You were part of our family for seven years and that time should have earned you more compassion and understanding than it did._

I snorted, amused at the thought of my marriage as a sentence that was commuted for bad behavior.  It was a good thing that Brigit had skipped reading it, I doubt she would have been impressed with the comparison. 

_I hope that you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me as I have forgiven you._

All of a sudden the whole thing began to make sense.  This was less about remorse and more about fear of death and the afterlife.  It wasn’t enough to say she was sorry, she needed her moral slate wiped clean.  I shrugged, there was no point in holding grudges especially towards a woman that I hadn’t even thought of  in years.    
    
“I forgive you.”  It seemed strange saying the words out loud and hearing them hang on air in my empty office, but at the same time I felt lighter than I had all day.  Carefully I folded the letter and then turned in my chair so I could stick it in the pocket of my suit jacket.  At some point I would show it to Timmy, but probably not today.


End file.
